On a Friday night, sometime in the 2003 – 2004 time-frame, I listened to a conversation that has helped my career ever since. The setting was a CJ’s Oyster Bar in Orlando. I joined a friend about 15 years my senior and one of his contemporaries. Since both men were successful – one was in software sales management and the other in land development – I was excited to observe their dialogue and grab any wisdom I could. And wisdom I received.
The two men were completely different in personality. If you listened to them banter, you’d think they were bitter enemies, but they had been good friends since they were fraternity brothers in college. David was a former boss of mine and Jake was his buddy. Although I never golfed with them, I’d bet that David would try to hit the ball down the middle off every tee, thinking deliberately about his score; while Jake probably went for it on every single stroke, owning the ten best and ten worst shots of the day. This gap in personality is the dynamic behind this blog post.
After about four beers and starting our second bucket of oysters, the lecturing of “young Chris” started. Jake ended one of his monologues telling me that one’s career comes down to 100 hours. “Let’s say you work for 40 years. That’s about 80,000 hours. Your success comes down to 100 of those hours. That’s it. You better see the opportunities and go for it.”
That’s when I thought David was going to disagree with him. He didn’t. However, he added a perspective that’s helped me ever since: “That’s only true if you don’t fuck up the other 79,900 hours.”
The balance was perfect. The idea was perfect. Focus on the process and the detail of your work, and when those special opportunities come along, recognize them and go for it. I don’t know if 100 hours is accurate, but 16 or 17 years and thousands of hours building Vector Firm later, I can guarantee that this concept is 100% accurate.
